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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The Child's Play series never settled for simple sequels in which Chucky, the killer doll, just found more people to kill. Season 3 of the series, premiering Oct. 4 on USA and SYFY, brings Chucky to new territory with the same macabre humor. The season premiere introduces Henry Collins (Callum Vinson) and his mother, Charlotte (Lara Jean Chorostecki). They've just moved into a scary new house.
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Of course, the trailer already gave away that it's the White House, and the show reveals this before the opening title. Still, it's a funny take on the horror trope.
Henry is President James Collins' (Devon Sawa) son and he has a Good Guy doll who calls himself Joseph. Of course, it's just Chucky.
After seven movies and two series, the show can still play with Chucky making moves in the dark unbeknownst to the humans. It still creates suspense with adults who don't know Chucky is waiting for them, this time including the Secret Service detail.
But Chucky does come to life on camera with the first graphic kill in the season premiere, and another in the second episode. Chucky's always got a sense of humor and one liners about his murders, and now uses White House accouterments as implements of death.
The show's previous cast is still significant in the new season. Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson) and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) are still looking for Chucky.
Lexy also is looking for her younger sister, whom Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) kidnapped in the Season 2 finale. The three are still in it together, and Jake and Devon are still in love, quoting Call Me By Your Name to each other.
Amid all the murder, Chucky still manages to deal with relevant themes. Jake and Devon are navigating their first physical relationships, and Lexy soon discovers the teenage romance she's been missing out on by focusing on Chucky.
Henry also is dealing with a similar trauma to Andy in the original film. Chucky preyed upon Andy having lost his father, and now Chucky preys on the First Family's personal tragedy.
The series still includes some more absurd episodes, usually the ones that feature Tilly. Chucky has some wild scenes that further develop the voodoo mythology in hilarious and compelling ways.
Part 1 of Season 3 is only the four episodes producers were able to complete before the writers and actors' strikes, but they end on a beat that feels like a reasonable end point and sets up a cliffhanger for 2024's remaining four episodes.
All the movies left room for more story, too, so this is good news that Chucky is nowhere near ending.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
